Word of the Day

yawn

 

When a person is tired or bored, he or she yawns:

yawn She’s yawning.

  • It’s natural to yawn when you are tired.
  • It’s polite to cover your mouth when you yawn.
  • Students express boredom in class by yawning.
  • If I’m bored, I yawn.
  • If a movie is boring, I yawn. (Note the difference between "bored" and "boring.")
  • The old dog yawned and stretched after waking up.

You can also use "yawn" as a noun:

  • It’s hard to stifle a yawn when you are really tired. (stifle = prevent)
  • One of my students let loose with a loud yawn in class. That was really rude.

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December 30, 2011